Publisher's Synopsis
DOWN IN NEW ORLEANS: True Stories of a Fabled City by William (Bill) C. Norris, Jr. are narratives of the people, places, and events that created the city on the Mississippi River with its character and soul. Over three hundred years since French adventurers arrived in the Lower Mississippi Valley, followed by Spanish colonists and later hordes of Americans, this book reveals their personalities, motivations, agendas, emotions, temperaments, and experiences. Surprises and intrigue populate the pages.
The struggles of French, Spanish, Native Americans, persons of African descent, refugees from Acadia, native-born Creoles, and Americans are part of the mystique You will meet people you have known and many you have never met. Widely known are French adventurers Iberville and his brother, Bienville, who established the French Colony. Many know of Spanish Louisiana Governor Galvez who drove the English out of West Florida. Widely known is the Louisiana Purchase. But few know Madeline Hachard, a young French woman with an order of Ursuline nuns, who wrote in 1727 of her Louisiana experiences and observations to her father in Rouen, France. He published her letters, becoming the first published book about New Orleans. Few have heard of Juan St. Malo, a runaway slave who led two villages of runaways for several years, as Africans struggled to establish free communities in Louisiana. Obscure is the U.S. military commander of the Louisiana Territory appointed by Pres. Thomas Jefferson, who was known as "Agent 13" by Spanish authorities. Archival research has confirmed he was on the Spanish dole as a spy. Down in New Orleans introduces the reader to special people who made the city unique. And there was the French/African man known as a free man of color who left San Domingue amid the slave revolt there, seeking a new life in New Orleans. He first launched a shoe business, then turning that over to his sister, launched into real estate. Thomy Lafon became one of the wealthy men of the city and a recognized philanthropist. Standing in Jackson Square, telling the true story of Michaela Almonester Pontalba was always a crowd pleaser. A true story of an indomitable woman who faced peril and persisted, leaving the city two of its greatest landmarks. Meet these people and others who are the soul of the city. These are the stories that define the mystique of New Orleans.
